Developments in the field of orthodontics continue to provide orthodontists with an ever-increasing number of competing options to address patient needs. In turn, such competing options have resulted in varying expectations and treatment plans.
Despite such variations, however, competing fixed orthodontia options continue to have many similarities. That is, conventional fixed orthodontic systems all utilize brackets, buccal tubes or similar fixed appliances secured to individual teeth and an arch wire passing therebetween, most commonly through bracket slots and/or ligated to the bracket tie wing(s). In some instances, the arch wire is preformed and/or additional accessories are interconnected to the brackets to apply the desired alignment forces. In the case of edgewise brackets, significant advances have been made in relation to angulation of the mesial-distal arch wire slot for purposes of more effectively "tipping" the root of a tooth to correct crown angle and more effectively applying torque to address inclination objectives.
It has been recognized, however, that slot-oriented approaches can provide only a marginal degree of control over the movement of the root of a tooth and are otherwise unable to realize optimal lingual-buccal tooth positioning. Additionally, slot-oriented approaches yield a range of achievable tipping, spreading and eruption/intrusion that may be insufficient to address severely malposed teeth. Consequently, such approaches can result in stop-go treatment progress, which can delay and otherwise impede the overall efficacy of treatment.